1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for the provision of packet mobile digital broadcast services as, for example, DVB-H (digital video broadcasting-handheld) and DVB-SH (digital video broadcasting-satellite-handheld) services.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed by the technical specification ETSI EN 302 304 V1.1.1 (2004-11), DVB-H is a transmission system using ETSI Digital Video Broadcasting standards, which is targeted to provide multimedia services to handheld terminals (light battery powered apparatuses) over digital terrestrial broadcasting networks. DVB-H is a broadcast transmission system for datagrams, wherein a datagram is a network layer packet with full address information enabling it to be routed to the endpoint without further information. These datagrams may be IP or other datagrams and may contain any types of digital content and services as, for example, data that pertain to multimedia services, file downloading services or other similar services.
Multimedia and data services may be provided to DVB-H terminals either by an organization, “home” organization, operating the service based on specific commercial arrangements with the customer or by other organizations, “visited” organizations, that, for example, operate services in other geographical areas having specific commercial arrangements with the “home” organization.
According to the technical specification ETSI TS 102 470 V1.1.1 (2006-04), a DVB network is uniquely identified by a network identifier (network_id). In a DVB network one or more Transport Streams (TS), each carrying a multiplex, are transmitted by one or more DVB signals. A multiplex is a set of DVB services multiplexed together, and carried on a Transport Stream. A Transport Stream is a bitstream carrying a multiplex. An IP flow is a flow of IP datagrams each sharing the same IP source and destination address. An IP platform is a set of IP flows managed by an organization. In particular, the IP platform represents a harmonized IP address space that has no address collisions. An IP platform is identified by a platform identifier (platform_id). An IP platform may be available on multiple Transport Streams, within one or multiple DVB networks. In such case, each Transport Stream may carry any subset of the IP flows of the IP platform.
In general, to access packet mobile digital broadcast services offered by a specific organization, a handheld device within the organization's home network needs to know specific identifying information (e.g., the platform identifier of the IP platform managed by such organization) which enables it to identify, among the Transport Streams that reach the broadcast receiver thereof, the IP flows of the IP platform managed by such organization.
Analogously, when roaming into a visited network managed by a “visited” organization, the handheld device needs to know identifying information which enables it to identify the packet mobile digital broadcast services offered by such visited organization, in order to enable the user to access such services.
WO 2006/014076 discloses a broadcast/multicast (BCAST) service system and method that provide inter-network roaming.
In particular, with reference to FIG. 6 of this document, WO 2006/014076 discloses an embodiment wherein the user of a mobile terminal 300 has a subscription to one or more (BCAST) services offered by a home network before the user roams to a visited network. The visited network, which is a broadcast type network, broadcasts its service guide repeatedly using its broadcasting mechanism to all terminals roamed in the visited network. The terminal, which has roamed to the visited network, receives the BCAST service guide of the visiting network. Upon checking the service guide, the user requests a use privilege (access information, e.g., right object(s) RO) in order to access a specific BCAST service identified in the service guide of the visited network. The use privilege is a right with respect to contents requested by the user or a right for accessing or using the BCAST service. The visited network receives the use privilege request and transmits a service authentication request message to the home network. The home network checks the service authentication of the terminal and transmits a service authentication response message to the visited network. The service authentication may involve determining whether or not the current terminal is a subscriber of the home network and examining in detail the subscription policy of the user terminal so as to determine whether or not the user should receive the specific BCAST service requested by the user. If the service authentication result indicates that the terminal is authorized to receive the BCAST service, the visited network transmits the use privilege (access information such as RO) for allowing access and/or use of the specific BCAST service requested by the user, to the user. RO can be a key or code to open or decrypt the BCAST service contents. The visited network transmits the user-requested contents (BCAST service) to the terminal through its broadcast mechanism. Upon receiving the contents, the terminal accesses or interprets the received contents by using the RO.
US 2005/0289589 discloses a system and method for the provision of service listings, channel listings and/or the like to a device, wherein location-appropriate serving parameters (such as network IP addresses, IP multicast addresses, platform parameters, transport stream identifiers, and/or the like) are employed by the device in receiving service listings data, channel listings data and/or the like.
According to the method disclosed by this document, serving parameters corresponding to one or more locations are received and stored at a storage area accessible by the device. Then the location of the device is determined. To this end, a GPS circuitry incorporated into the device may be used or the user may be prompted for the location of the device via a GUI and/or other interface provided by the device. Otherwise, cell and/or network identifiers might be received and used to determine the device's location, for example by consulting an accessible storage area that associated such identifiers with geographical locations. The known location of the device is then employed in retrieving various corresponding service parameters employable in the receipt of location-appropriate serving listings data, channel listings data and/or the like. The retrieved serving parameters are then used to format and send a request for a serving listing to a service provider.
Therefore, according to the technique disclosed by this document the appropriate serving parameters to be used for receiving location-appropriate serving listings data, channel listings data and/or the like are each time retrieved by the device, based on the current location of the device.